FOREX

Having failed at an attempted move above the 1.04 handle against its US Counterpart overnight Thursday, investors have once again struggled to commit fully to a sustained upward trend.

The focus yesterday was mainly on the mid-year budget released by Wayne Swan, with the savings included outlined in the release leading to a perceived increase in the chance for a rate cut on Melbourne Cup day.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar has opened slightly weaker this morning and is poised to test further upside over the next few weeks should global economic data continue to show signs of improvement.

Friday's Asian session was a fairly quiet one for the AUD with most willing to trade the ranges following a busy Thursday day and night .

The markets main focus yesterday was Chinese GDP, which came in on general expectations at 7.4%, printing the lowest GDP figure since March 2009 but still at a level which suggests the government may delay any further stimulus.

The Australian dollar firmed significantly against its US Counterpart yesterday after ratings agency Moody confirmed that it would keep Spain’s debt rating above junk bond status.

Fresh four-year highs in monthly US building permits and housing starts at 894K and 872K respectively, are consistent with the 43% and 36% increase in US existing home sales and new home sales from their respective 2010 lows.

In minutes released by the Reserve Bank of Australia yesterday Governor Glenn Steven’s remained relatively dovish in his outlook for the local economy pointing towards a slowdown in China as one of the main reasons growth may struggle over the medium term.

Following Governor Glenn Stevens’s dovish comments late last week that the RBA has considerable scope to lower borrowing costs, added emphasis has now been placed on the release of minutes from the Central Banks most recent meeting, which are due out this morning.

The Australian dollar consolidated weekly gains well on Friday after Trade Balance figures from China showed iron ore imports climbed at their quickest pace in 20-months.

Whilst the official unemployment rate in September spiked from 5.1 percent to 5.4 percent, labour market figures released yesterday were generally viewed as a positive by the majority of investors.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar has edged slightly higher despite a second consecutive poor night on global stock markets.

Following some heavy falls late last week the Australian dollar consolidated yesterday bouncing off bottom side support of 1.0150 against its US Counterpart.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar has fallen one US cent, as markets adjust their view on the Australian economy to one of weakness, following last week's dovish outlook on the global economic outlook by the Reserve Bank of Australia.

In what was a relatively positive start for the Australian dollar on Friday the higher yielding currency traded as high as 1.0274 against its US Counterpart intraday.

The Aussie dollar continued its recent slide against the Greenback yesterday after Australia posted its widest trade deficit since March 2008.

The RBA yesterday surprised around 40% of the market, deciding to cut rates by 0.25%. The accompanying statement while dovish wasn’t extreme and did offer some positives offering no concrete direction for further moves later in the year.

In figures released yesterday China’s manufacturing activity has continued to show signs of weakness after the official PMI figure fell short of the all important 50 threshold, with any reading above this deemed an expansion.

Pulling the Australian dollar back from a 2-week trough yesterday, the higher yielding asset appreciated against its US Counterpart as investors speculated that China’s government will announce stimulus measures designed to bolster the local economy.

There was a profound move away from riskier backed assets overnight which noticeably harmed the credentials of the Aussie Dollar.

The Australian dollar did next to nothing intraday yesterday bouncing 20 basis points either side of its opening level of 1.0420 against its US Counterpart.

The Australian dollar retreated yesterday and after hefty gains over the past week the higher-yielding asset appears a little heavy around the 1.05 mark against its US Counterpart.

Following a week in which the Australian dollar retreated from a five month high of 1.0625 against its US Counterpart, Friday’s session was an overall positive one for the higher yielding asset.

The Australian dollar fell following recent stimulus euphoria as doubts about its implementation as well as poor Chinese manufacturing data cast doubt over the higher value of the Aussie.

The Australian dollar returned to its winning ways yesterday bolstered by the actions of the Bank of Japan which saw the Central Bank add 10 trillion Yen to its 45 trillion-yen fund that buys assets including government debt. IThe Australian dollar returned to its winning ways yesterday bolstered by the actions of the Bank of Japan which saw the Central Bank add 10 trillion Yen to its 45 trillion-yen fund that buys assets including government debt. I

The Australian dollar has weakened over much of the past 24 hours after minutes from the Reserve Banks most recent meeting showed officials remained concerned and cautious about both domestic conditions amid slowing grow in China and Europe.

Despite a report from the Reserve Bank of Australia which showed 23 National Central Banks around the globe hold the Australian Currency as a reserve, hence sustaining the value of the Aussie Dollar, the higher-yielding unit opens this morning overall weaker against its US Counterpart.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar continued its firm tone over the weekend as the recent announcement of QE3 by the US Federal Reserve continues to push equity markets higher and the USD continues its downward path.

The Australian dollar surged to its highest level in over month last week after the US Federal Reserve announced a fresh stimulus package, designed to give the world’s largest economy a boost.